“It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed, is you.”, from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button My nine day trip to Reggio-Emilia was planned so I would only miss 4 school days. Now, in the span of one’s entire life, or even a year, 9 days is really not that much. However, nine days is over one-quarter of a month, and even though I was across an ocean, the Discovery Center was never far from my heart or my mind. Everything I heard and saw, I compared and contrasted to what we do in our school. Every piece of documentation, every environment, every child, reminded me not only of the purpose of we do what we do, but also of the impact and effect we have on the lives of so many children and families. The Salvador Allende school in particular reminded me very much of our school – it is a school in the city, that incorporates the surrounding green space into its daily activity. [The picture below is from the Internet – as we were not allowed to take photographs in the schools] I was struck by many things while in Reggio-Emilia, but two things stood out more than anything else – that children and adults are the same all over the world – children love learning and playing, and the adults in their lives want only the best for their education and happiness . I have a great deal of notes, comments and thoughts that I am working on compiling and will be happy to share with everyone soon. One of the most impactful moments for me during my study, was while watching a video of a group of parents discussing their experiences transitioning with their child from preschool to primary [elementary] school. One father stated that his hopes for his child were that his child’s education would not simply be a school FOR him, but instead a school WITH him. This stressed for me the importance of not only parent involvement, but parent ownership and partnership as well. Parent Involvement is of course a point-of-pride in our school, but it is always something we, as a staff, can work toward improving and nurturing. We always invite parents to join us in discussion and decision-making and welcome any suggestions or ideas you may have to help us increase our efforts at increasing collaboration among all stakeholders in our school. As the opening quote states, I am changed, I have been profoundly affected by all I saw and experienced in the municipality of Reggio-Emilia, Italy. The kindness, scholarship, collegiality, and friendship I experienced have deepened and strengthened my purpose, commitment and vision for our school - to be the ideal example of a free, public, Reggio-inspired school in the United States. We can do this, we are so close, but it will take the combined effort, expertise, creativity, flexibility, and dedication of all of us to achieve. I have no doubt we are able, and all I ask is that you join, support and trust in me, our staff, and in one another to realize our legacy.